Austrian Railways, ÖBB Österreichische Bundesbahnen

Case study

In 4 Regional Control Centers West (Zirl near Innsbruck), Middle (Attnang-Puchheim), South (Villach) and East (Vienna-Meidling), ÖBB monitors and controls the entire energy supply for trains, as well as the major infrastructure in tunnels and train stations all over Austria. For always reliable and timely train operation, fast and efficient problem solving is of utmost importance.

Barco's Display Walls in second generation at ÖBB
Already in 1996 and 1997 ÖBB installed Barco's OverView-mL Display Walls in all 4 Regional Control Centers. Operators are provided with always updated graphical information on the Display Walls: Starting with an overview of the entire Austrian country, operators are able to zoom into all relevant details in real time, getting more and more details of the energy distribution network and the infrastructure. This way, operators are able to intervene instantly, ensuring an almost uninterrupted operation. In parallel to further innovation of the automation systems in 2002 and 2003, ÖBB replaced the Display Walls in all 4 Regional Control Centers by Barco's latest OverView mP50 Display Walls. For accomplishing the even higher requirements regarding graphical information, all Display Walls were expanded by additional projection modules. More and more, ÖBB's Regional Control Centers take over additional tasks such as event driven video monitoring of train stations, platforms, elevators and escalators. Moreover, the Regional Control Centers act as backup for ÖBB's central energy dispatching center in Innsbruck.

24/7 Operation
Two operators per shift control ÖBB's entire energy supply in 24/7 operation. Besides the 16 2/3 Hz supply for trains, also the 50 Hz supply for all crucial systems in tunnels and other infrastructure systems are in the Regional Control Center's responsibility. An ergonomically well designed Control Center including best possible information display on large screen Display Walls is therefore of high importance. Barco's Display Walls are considered an important contribution to ÖBB's automation system and operation.

Integration with ABB Automation System
The Display Walls are integrated in ABB's MAS 3002 automation software. Important features of this software are the ability to display all relevant information at a glance, from an overview of the entire country down to smallest details of the energy network, just by mouse interaction. Convenient zoom functions with additional information at every zoom level, in real time, are one of the important possibilities. All necessary interventions can be carried out directly on the Display Walls. Due to medical and ergonomical requirements, the pictures on the Display Walls contain the same color codes as on operator's monitors.

Maintenance by ÖBB
For ensuring high availability of the Regional Control Centers, ÖBB along with ABB takes over maintenance of the Display Walls. For instance, utilizing Barco's Color Adjustment and Service Tool CAST, ÖBB even occasionally carries out adjustment of the Display Walls.